ABSTRACT

During the 1930s and 1940s Italy, alongside France, played England more times than any other foreign country. Moreover, the games played in 1939 and 1948, represented in the media as ‘matches of the century’, matched England, the ‘Masters of Football’, with Italy, the World Cup champions. The two countries were rivals also off the pitch, as highlighted by the Second World War. For British governments, these two fixtures possessed considerable significance because of not only soccer’s instrumental role as cultural propaganda but also concerns about Italy’s politico-diplomatic alignment both before and after the War. Official discussions inspired by the 1948 game prompted the Foreign Office to press the case for a more proactive government approach towards British sport. In the event, this policy initiative proved abortive, but did mark significant advances in both Foreign Office thinking about international sport and its working relationship with The Football Association, especially Stanley Rous, and the Rugby Football Union.

摘要

在 1930 年代和 1940 年代，意大利与法国一起对英格兰的比赛次数比任何其他国家都多。此外，1939 年和 1948 年的比赛在媒体上被称为“世纪比赛”，与“足球大师”英格兰队和世界杯冠军意大利队进行了比赛。正如第二次世界大战所强调的那样，这两个国家在场外也是竞争对手。对英国政府来说，这两项赛事具有相当重要的意义，不仅因为足球作为文化宣传的工具作用，而且还因为对意大利战前和战后的政治外交联盟的担忧。受 1948 年比赛启发的官方讨论促使外交部敦促政府对英国体育采取更积极主动的做法。结果，这项政策举措被证明是失败的，